Thank you for addressing my pointsYeah, sorry, it kinda blurred together/rambled. I’m going to try to address your addresses lol
- I don’t think that’s necessarily true. It’s complicated and long and I won’t go into my full opinion or anything so I don’t start going off on a tangent/rambling again but the vast majority of breeders (AKC, UKC, etc.) do not sterilize dogs before rehoming. They simply have a spay/neuter contract which seems to work well. Also, a lot of other countries don’t even fix dogs or fix them a lot less often and they don’t have that many more unwanted litters or behavior problems. I think the key is management rather than just always fixing the dog. It is not that hard to manage intact dogs if the time and effort is put in. BUT. For the average pet owner, fixing is probably best, but I don’t think it should be done so young. For shelters rehoming older dogs, I think they should all be fixed if they’re above like 6 months.
- I was simply using the term the breeders listed on their websites. I don’t know if it’s right or not but it probably doesn’t matter much anyway. Also I think in Australia and the UK they call it desexing and the breed originated in Australia.
- 6 months is not that early and I wasn’t saying they’d be under or over weight or height. Most dogs are fine. BUT...
- They DO still need their hormones. Yes they can look and appear healthy and fine, was not saying they would drop dead or get sickly or something, but there is actually a lot of research out now saying that early spaying and neutering is really bad for large breed dogs and can cause a lot of health problems. They are a lot more prone to ACL/tendon/ligament injuries and structure issues. Spayed and neutered dogs also tend to be taller and lankier than their intact relatives. They need the hormones to close the growth plates properly. If they are neutered too early, the growth plates won’t close on time and they will continue to grow. This is why they are also more prone to the ACL injuries because they are taller than they “should be.” Large breed dogs shouldn’t be fixed until AT LEAST 1 year, for most of the giant breeds it is 18 months to 2 years. In fact, a lot of breeders of giant breeds have it in their contracts not to neuter until that age. Even some Golden breeders have it in their contracts now. There is a lot of research about the potential joint issues and ACL issues for me to ever risk it. Certain breeds are also more prone to cancers and there is even one vet that says dogs shouldn’t be fixed at all or at least put on hormone supplements because all their fixed clients ended up with endocrine issues. I am not that extreme but there is enough research that I will either not fix my next dog or I will do an alternative, hormone sparing surgery like the ovary sparing spay for females or vasectomy for males. I won’t risk it. We neutered Gator way too early and he has had numerous leg injuries and health issues. Cattle, cats, and dogs are all completely different species and early spaying and neutering of cats generally does not have the same ramifications as it does on dogs. And cattle usually only stay alive a few years anyway so if there were any consequences, we probably wouldn’t know. And the issue is not whether they reach full size or not. It is joint and muscle health.
- I know they are not purebred. I was not trying to say that they were and I know that there are lots of fake registries established by puppy mills. But my point was that the Australian Labradoodle is a specific type that has been bred for over 30 years and they have strict requirements about what qualifies as one and who can be registered as one as well as their temperament and coat type, etc. and some of the breeders have been breeding 10 years, 20 years, etc. just like most purebreds, so they are more reputable than most of the other doodles and mutts. And all breeds started out as mutts. Registration and breeding true doesn’t happen overnight. They are trying to be established.
- I know they can go that high but around here they usually aren’t. The really good, reputable breeders are usually around $1800-$2000, sometimes $1500 or $1200 or occasionally more, I’ve seen a few higher ones (over $2000) but it’s not as common. And they’re usually not less than $1000, unless they’re from BYBs. So I know how high a reputable breeder’s dogs can be but my point was that is really high for a glorified mutt. Not that it is high for a reputable purebred breeder. Also, if they are charging more based on gender or a color, especially marking “rare” colors way up, that is usually a red flag and not a sign of a reputable breeder.
- I get that and I’m not against a deposit but for a lot of breeders it’s like $150 or $200, not $500.
I’m so sorry.
Sorry I went off on a tangent. I can get heated about this. Like I mentioned earlier, I've dealt with irresponsible owners dumping pregnant animals.
I am pro breeding endangered breeds, service dogs and work dogs such as police dogs or search and rescue.
Show.... mmmm... I probably don't understand enough to get with the program.
